Yaz, Yasmin Blood-Clotting Allegation Lawyers Alert: Resource4thePeople Announces Continuation of No-Cost Consultations for Consumers in 2014
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) January 31, 2014 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/yasmin.html
Resource4thePeople announced today that its national network of attorneys will continue to offer free consultations in 2014 to consumers seeking compensation over allegations* that the popular contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin may cause life-threatening blood-clotting problems.
Court records show that nearly 10,000 lawsuits from across the country claiming that Yaz and Yasmin (drospirenone) may cause potentially fatal blood-clotting problems are currently consolidated before a single federal court judge. Those figures** were compiled by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
"We are also announcing that we will continue to provide consumers with updates involving this litigation in which the judge is now presiding over pre-trial evidence-gathering involving lawsuits against the manufacturers of Yaz and Yasmin," said Resource4thePeople.
The announcement of the continuation of the no-cost consultations was made after numerous inquiries were received from consumers about whether Resource4thePeople's national network of attorneys would, after 2013, continue to offer them in the same manner.
“The increase in the number of consumers inquiring about issues raised in the Yaz and Yasmin federal multidistrict litigation and other lawsuits demonstrates that many consumers are seeking experienced, aggressive legal help,” said Resource4thePeople.
Resource4thePeople said that eligible consumers will be provided information about legal options to seek compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other costs in connection with expenses incurred in connection with the allegations.
"However, each case is different and there may be legal time limits involved and consumers are advised to contact us as soon as possible in order to preserve all of their legal options," said Resource4thePeople.
“There has been a continued climb in the number of consumers inquiring about alleged Yaz and Yasmin (drospirenone) side effects ever since the Food and Drug Administration issued a Health Warning*** about possible blood-clotting dangers.”
FDA officials said in the April 10, 2012 Health Warning that agency officials had conducted a review and “concluded that drospirenone-containing birth control pills may be associated with a higher risk for blood clots than other progestin-containing pills. FDA is adding information about the studies to the labels of drospirenone-containing birth control pills.”
Some of the lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation are being settled, according to a recent financial report**** from pharmaceutical giant Bayer, the manufacturer of Yaz and Yasmin contraceptives. It shows that the company has agreed to pay out nearly $1.6 billion so far to settle cases in the consolidated lawsuits.
The progress of the settlements was recently reported to Judge David R. Herndon, in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois and figures about legal costs involving the thousands of lawsuits were detailed in pharmaceutical giant Bayer's stockholder newsletter for the third quarter of 2013.
The massive payoffs were included in the Oct. 31, 2013 posting informing investors about the financial progress of the company, including an update of its legal costs.
"This is a huge amount of money and shows the extent of how significant the allegations about blood-clotting made by thousands of women are and how they are being compensated for a possibly fatal condition," said Resource4thePeople.
In the third quarter financial report Bayer reported the following details:
"As of October 18, 2013, Bayer had reached agreements, without admission of liability, to settle the claims of approximately 7,660 claimants in the U.S. for a total amount of about US$1.575 billion. Bayer has only been settling claims in the U.S. for venous clot injuries (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) after a case-specific analysis of medical records on a rolling basis. Such injuries are alleged by about 2,300 of the pending unsettled claimants. Bayer will continue to consider the option of settling such individual lawsuits in the U.S. on a case-by-case basis."
Bayer also has agreed to pay up to $24 million to settle other lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation involving allegations over gall bladder side effects, according to the court file in the litigation.
These settlements are a different component of this consolidated litigation in Illinois in which plaintiffs claimed that they suffered gall bladder injuries because they used Yaz and Yasmin as contraceptives.
Meanwhile, as a Sept. 15, 2013 article***** in the Chicago Tribune points out, federal officials are being asked to escalate warnings about possible blood-clotting problems associated with the contraceptives and at least one consumer non-profit organization has called for the products to be pulled from the marketplace.
The Chicago Tribune article questioned the effectiveness and safety of Yaz and Yasmin contraceptives and cited increased concern about the products from women’s groups:
“Some women's health advocates want a stronger, black-box warning that is more likely to be noticed,” the Tribune reported. “The advocacy group Public Citizen, meanwhile, has placed drugs containing drospirenone — including Yaz, Yasmin, Gianvi and Zarah — on its ‘do not use’ list because they ‘can cause increased blood levels of potassium and (are) no more effective than other oral contraceptives in preventing pregnancy.’ On the Internet, people who call themselves ‘Yaz survivors’ post accounts of their experiences."
In a related matter, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported that physicians there are linking Yaz and Yasmin to 23 deaths. In a June 12, 2013 posting***** The CBC said that "According to documents obtained from Health Canada, doctors and pharmacists say Yaz and Yasmin are suspected in the deaths of the women, who mostly died suddenly from blood clots."
Health Canada is the Canadian equivalent to the FDA, which, on April 10, 2012, issued a Health Warning informing consumers and physicians about possible Yaz and Yasmin blood clotting side effects.******
Sources:
*In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2100, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
**http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-November-18-2013.pdf
***http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm299305.htm
****http://www.stockholders-newsletter-q3-2013.bayer.com/en/explanatory-notes.aspx
***** http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-09-15/health/ct-met-birth-control-risks-20130915_1_drospirenone-clots-pills
******http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/11/birth-control-pills-yaz-yasmin.html
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, +1 858 602-2749, [email protected]
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